Chapter 1: The Bed Is Made
They hadn't even docked when Sawyer and Kate started running. Standing on an empty end of the boat, they eyed up the distance from the boat to the water.
"You reckon that water's deep enough to jump into?" Sawyer was playing with Kate's newly sheered head of peroxide blonde hair.
"You reckon they'll notice if we dive overboard?" Kate mimicked Sawyer's drawl and pushed his hand away from her hair. She wasn't happy with the butchered state of her pretty mop of curls.
Casting a glance all around them Sawyer twined their fingers and led "Joanna" a few feet to the left. Leaning her against the bar he kissed her jaw and whispered, "Now that we're in the blind spot, I'm sure they won't see us."
As he swung his leg up to the top bar Kate suddenly tugged his arm, forcing him to balance on two legs on the deck again.
"What? I thought we were gonna-"
He never finished the sentence, Kate cut him off with a kiss. The shock wore off quickly and he wrapped his arm around her hips, pulling her closer. Before he could deepen it Kate pulled back, licking her lower lip.
"Thank you."
Sawyer's eyebrows shot up, "Sweetcheeks, you kissed me."
She couldn't resist smiling, "You've done so much for me and-"
Sawyer put a finger on her lips, "You're not getting sentimental on me, are you Freckles?"
He then flipped a lock of her butchered hair into her eye forcing her to shake it out. Kate shook her head at him, still smiling, and swung her leg over the top bar of the deck, "'Course I'm not."
One splash later Sawyer was shaking his head at the bobbing figure in the water, "What a woman."
Another splash later the deck was empty.
-.-.-
"In other news authorities have released their newest description of Miss Austin. She is described as five foot five inches in height with short cropped, bleached blonde hair, brown eyes and a slim build. She was last seen in the company of James Ford alias Sawyer, a noted Con Man. He is described as –"
Kate turned the dial on the radio.
"Oh, come on, Freckles…not even gonna let me hear my description?"
She leaned back, studying the maps in her lap, "If I didn't know better I'd say you were excited about being on the news."
"Well, I'm sure the charm wears off, but I don't get tired of hearing them call me a 'Smooth talking good ol' boy with an athlete's body'…does wonders for my ego." He looked over at Kate with his typical smartass smirk.
She rolled her eyes, "Like your ego needs stroking."
"No, but I can think of other parts that could benefit from the attention, if your feeling so inclined."
Kate shook her head, trying to hold back the smile that his quips put on her face. In an instant she was back to business, "Make the next right…there looks like there's going to be a store or something."
He took the turn and parked in a shady corner, reaching into his pocket he removed a wad of cash that he had managed to get out of his account before the FBI froze it.
"Are you buying plugs again? Cause I don't want a repeat of last time…" Sawyer had learned the hard way that the last thing you want to say to a woman on her period is that you missed the turnoff leading to the drugstore and there won't be another one for…a long time.
"No, I think its time to change my hair color again. The news keeps showing me as a blonde, changing it back to brunette might throw them off again."
"Plus you hate your hair."
"That too." Kate grabbed the twenty Sawyer was holding out for her and threw on a pair of sunglasses. Waltzing into the drugstore she was out in ten minutes, a huge bag in her hands.
"Damn girl…I thought you were just getting hair color." Sawyer peaked into the bag before pushing it away like the plague, "Jesus!"
He shook his hand like he was trying to throw off a bug, "I thought you said you didn't need tampons?"
"Well I have to plan ahead because someone can't follow directions and-" Kate stopped as Sawyer got out of the car and headed toward the drug store, "What are you doing?"
"Buying you some Midol before you really start to PMS."
-.-.-
"I don't know about this Sawyer…"
"Freckles, I got a dollar bill, a dime, a gum wrapper and a condom in my wallet…we need to do this." Sawyer was working on his tie when Kate's whine emitted from the bathroom of the hotel room.
"I know that…I don't know about this." She stepped out of the bathroom and Sawyer froze with his tie flopped over one hand, mid-tie.
She was wearing a black and red corset with black fishnets, red ribbon garters and black stilettos, a puffed out black tulle skirt left very little to the imagination.
"You know what…maybe we should forget about the con…you want me to lock the door and help you out of that?" Sawyer finished tying his tie and appraised Kate for a long moment.
Kate rolled her eyes, "Your not helping, I feel like a whore."
"Uh, baby…did you forget that your playing the whore?" Sawyer came over to her, rubbed her shoulders and blatantly stared at her boobs, "Remember? You play the hooker he brings to his room and I play the cop that busts him and he bribes me big time to not arrest him?"
Sawyer even flashed her the badge for effect, the same badge he had taken from the Marshall on the Island. Kate pouted at him, her arms crossed against her chest but whether it was because she felt naked or because she wanted Sawyer to look in her eyes not her breasts was hard to tell.
She gave him big brown eyes and a pout.
"Kate if you're that uncomfortable we can figure something else out…but one way or another we need to get money…and we definitely need to get you out of that outfit."
Cracking a small smile, "It's ok…we need to do this scam. But your sure that you'll be watching and I won't have to sleep with him or anything remotely related to it?"
Sawyer gave her a hard look, "Do you really think I'd let another man touch you? No amount of money could change my mind about that."
"Really?" She twined her arms around his neck, then tracing one leg up his until it wrapped around his hip, "You don't want anyone else to..."
Sawyer growled and in a flash had Kate pinned underneath him on the bed, "Freckles you got two seconds to decide if you want to do this scam or have me rip that off of you…one…two…"
"Sawyer…" She had trouble getting out what she wanted to say, being distracted by Sawyer nibbling her ear, then going down her neck, kissing the hollow of her throat. He was on the swell of her breast when she finally said, "We need the money. We have to stop…."
He groaned but stood up, lifting her with him, "It's true what they say about women…"
"What do they say?" Kate walked over to the mirror and applied some obnoxiously red lipstick, applied some mascara and eyeliner and truly completely the whore look.
"They say: 'When women go wrong, men go right after them.'" Sawyer came up behind her.
"Who is they?" Kate asked as she looked over her face and decided that she looked quite whorish enough.
"Mae West."
"Trust a whore to quote a whore." Kate rolled her eyes.
Sawyer wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, "Look who's talking!"
After one last kiss they stalked out of the room, predators preparing to spring upon their unsuspecting victim. Twenty thousand dollars later they were in their truck, parked in a dark alley way, finishing what they'd started earlier.
-.-.-
"- In other news, the FBI suspect that Katherine Austin and James "Sawyer" Ford are responsible for a number of cons recently committed in the Mid-West. In all these cons a beautiful young woman compromises a wealthy man who then pays off her counterpart who is sometimes posing as a cop, other times posing as a journalist…although evidence suggests that they also might have robbed-"
"You seeing this?" Jack Shepard was on his fourth cup of coffee, sitting in the staff room, taking a well deserved break for a phone call.
"Seeing what?" A string of angry sounding Spanish erupted followed by some banging pots, "What are you watching?"
"CNN…they think Kate and Sawyer are conning people, robbing places…"
A long breath was released, "Well, what did you really expect, Jack? They can't exactly go apply for a position at Starbucks part-time or something…they're criminals."
"You're a cop, Ana," He continued, "Do you see them getting caught? Do you think the running is all in vain?"
Ana Lucia contemplated the question for a moment, "I think that since the Island everybody knows him, so that doesn't help. They already knew her so that didn't matter too much but it ruins the fact that they were running together. But…they're good. I mean, this is like…what she does. She's an expert and he's no first timer…"
"There's a nasty 'but' isn't there?" Jack sipped the Folger's and glanced at the clock, break was almost up.
"But no one can run forever. Someone's going to catch them eventually."
"I know it sounds wrong…but I'm rooting for Sawyer and Kate." Jack threw out the Styrofoam cup he'd been drinking from.
A small laugh, "Don't tell anyone…but I'm rooting for them too."
Jack couldn't help a smile, "Your secret's safe with me, Ana…listen my break's winding down and I have a lot of paperwork to sort through. Your flying in Sunday, right?"
"I can't believe I let you talk me into getting back on a plane after what happened last time…yes Sunday. Flight 913 from LA should get there about 5:30."
"Great…perfect timing. We can go right out for dinner." Jack jotted down the flight information one last time before saying, "Can't wait…see you then."
-.-.-
Kate groaned and leaned her forehead against the window of the truck. It had been cool twenty minutes ago but now it was warm and sweaty, just like her. She was curled up in the fetal position feeling like Hell warmed over.
"You alright, Freckles?"
She got him a dirty look and groaned again, leaning her head against a different part of the window looking for a cool spot.
Stupid question He thought.
Without warning Kate dove for the floor of the passenger's side and stuck her head into a bag, vomiting with a potency that Sawyer had never seen in all the binge's he'd had in his life. He had seen it coming though…the same thing had happened yesterday. And the day before. And the day before.
Everyday Kate thought it was a flu or a 24 hour bug…but going on 72 hours Sawyer was doubting it was a bug or the flu.
He didn't know what was happening to the spunky, sexy girl he knew…and it was starting to scare him. What was wrong with her? Why was she so sick?
"Maybe…maybe you're allergic to something." He suggested, watching her pause for a breath before puking again.
"Yeah, those saltines are real bitches to the digestion." She growled at him giving him the look that stated This is all your fault, I don't know how but it's all your fault.
He had learned not to argue with that look…there was no use pissing her off when she was teetering on the edge of insanity unless he wanted to be castrated.
"Are you…are you sure?" Sawyer stumbled over the words, uncomfortable with the topic.
"Do you want me to go in and get it?" Kate was curled up in the passenger's seat with a water bottle on the back of her neck.
"No… no you hold tight, Sweetcheeks." He made to get out of the car but stopped to look back at her, "You sure you want this?"
"Just get it! Then we'll know if I needed it or not!"
He slammed the door to put a barrier between himself and the savage beast. When he came back she was halfway through a sleeve of saltines and looking happier then ten minutes ago. He handed her the little bag and shuddered, it was as if he'd been holding something particularly offensive.
"I think your nuts asking for that…I mean…its not going to do anything…you just…have a cold."
The saltine that was halfway into her mouth dropped to her lap and they shared an intensely serious stare. Most of their relationship evolved from one-liners, quips, repartee and raw sexual energy. Seriousness wasn't abounding…mostly because they were constantly up to their necks in extremely serious situations. Like running from the FBI and figuring out ways to con people out of large amounts of money without being caught.
"Sawyer…I…" She swallowed her cracker and tried again, "I hope your right but we have to check this. We have to cover all bases…cause this is one bitchin' flu."
She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door of the pickup.
"You're going now?" Sawyer asked, obviously lost once more in the vast world of women.
Kate shrugged as she took the pregnancy test out of the bag, "Carpe diem."
"Don't you Carpe Diem me until after you've peed on the stick, ok?" He looked nervous, twitchy. Continuously playing with the radio or tapping his fingers on the dash Sawyer reminded Kate of Charlie when he was going through withdrawal.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Five minutes, ok?"
-.-.-
"So…blue means knocked up, right?"
Kate had her head on her knees and mutely nodded.
"So…we're having a baby?"
Balancing her chin on her knees Kate stared out at the road. They were driving again, they couldn't decide on something better to do after she'd taken the test. Blue. It was fucking blue.
"Are we having a baby, Sawyer?" Her voice was paper thin and weak.
"I thought blue meant…"
"I know blue means positive but…I mean…how on earth are we going to deal with this? We're on the run! We can't just drop in at a clinic or something…abortion or birth we're on our own…and if we have it…" She let out a long breath, to Sawyer it almost sounded like she was on the verge of crying. He pulled over. The highway they were on was nearly abandoned, there was no one to see him as he grabbed one of her hands and rubbed it gently.
"What are we going to do, Sawyer?"
He thought about it for a moment, a long moment. The silence in the car seemed to suffocate Kate as she waited for the verdict.
"Well…" Sawyer exhaled a long breath, "the bed is made. Suppose we're stuck laying in it."
TBC
Next Chapter: A New Edition
Author's Notes: As stated by the summary, they're having the baby. Yay! I love the Skate baby, or rather the idea of one. But I don't think they would EVER sit down and plan a baby, I think it would take them by COMPLETE surprise, so I really want to emphasize their surprise and almost reluctance.
Things you alert readers should ponder: Just how hard is it to name a baby? When will PB&J come into this fic? And…how DOES one go about giving birth on the run?
REMEMBER TO HARASS ME! I'm trying out this new thing where I write a summary for each chapter in advance, that way I'm not writing without an idea and I can start like four chapters like that, and that way I have some cushion to fall on in case updating/ideas run dry at some point.
On a personal note: RARELY do I update so swiftly…don't become complacent, continue to harass me. When the first week goes by without an update, PMing and IMing and Email are good things to abuse
THANKS!
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